TfL Compliance Checks in Basildon

David Kurten: How often are TfL compliance operations carried out in Basildon? If and when compliance operations are carried out in Basildon, do TfL check the records of bookings to see if private hire drivers are predominantly working in London or Basildon and where they live as suggested by Government, under the fit and proper criteria of their licences?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is not the licensing authority in Basildon, and any operations in this area would be carried out by Basildon Borough Council, the local licensing authority. TfL has no record of carrying out any joint operations with Basildon Borough Council, although they did make initial enquiries with TfL about this matter. TfL responded suggesting further discussion and is currently awaiting a response from Basildon Borough Council and will consider any intelligence received to determine how best it can assist.

Bus operators and stress management

Caroline Pidgeon: Will you ensure that all bus operators have a stress management standard and carry out stress risk assessments of their drivers?

The Mayor: Issues relating to stress will be addressed within the fatigue risk management systems that bus operators will be required to demonstrate that they have in place in order to be able to bid for route tenders from summer next yearWider contributory factors such as shift work, working culture, sleep quality and health will also be considered. Transport for London (TfL) is working with bus operators to develop and introduce the standards and guidance.
TfL will ensure all managers in bus garages undertake appropriate training. TfL will also incentivise operators to continue working to establish the most effective interventions to promote safety, and the health and wellbeing of drivers, by making £500,000 available for various initiatives through its Bus Safety Innovation Challenge.
TfL is also fostering a more open and transparent working culture across the bus industry to help reduce road risk. This is part of my Vision Zero ambition to ensure no one is killed or seriously injured on London’s roads.

Bee-friendly bus stops

Caroline Russell: The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands has transformed 316 bus shelters into bee-friendly spaces with green roofs, which also provide benefits for managing heat, air pollution and drainage. Will you trial this practical biodiverse solution at bus stops in London?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor’s Question 2019/17308.

Dedicated charging points for electric taxis – update (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: What is the ratio of dedicated charging points for electric taxis?

The Mayor: As of 8 October, Transport for London had installed 207 rapid charging points, all of which are available for taxis and 73 (35 per cent) are dedicated to taxi use only. That equates to a ratio of 1.8 public rapid charging points for every 1 taxi-dedicated charge point.
Following the publication of the London EV Infrastructure Delivery Plan, the number of rapid charging points in London will continue to be monitored, including the increasing amount being delivered by the private sector. The Delivery Plan concluded that different types of chargers currently suit different user needs, and a mix of rapid and slower chargers will continue to be needed to 2025. Furthermore, the modelling for the plan gave us confidence the current delivery schedule in London will be enough to deal with the expected uptake of electric vehicles, including the taxi trade.

Silvertown Tunnel (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Has TfL investigated whether implementing a toll on the Blackwall tunnel could also improve resilience by preventing blockages by, for example, preventing over-height vehicles from registering for the toll system?

The Mayor: As I explain in my response to Mayor's Question 2019/19671, Transport for London (TfL) has investigated a number of measures to prevent blockages and improve resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel.
While TfL would encourage customers to pre-register for a user charge such as the one you describe, it would not be able to mandate registration. Furthermore, articulated lorries would be registered as a cab only, with the potential to pull different trailers of different heights.
TfL already has an advanced detection system and associated enforcements activities in place. This system allows over-height vehicles to be detected, removed from the road and penalised. Despite these measures, closures of the Blackwall Tunnel are still far higher than for any other tunnel in London.
While a significant number of blockages are caused by over-height vehicles, there are a variety of other causes of incidents at the Blackwall Tunnel, for example, the tight geometry of the tunnels which leads to a significant number of vehicle collisions. This situation cannot continue. TfL has demonstrated through the development of the scheme that the Silvertown Tunnel proposals are the best means of reducing the number of incidents and improving the reliability of the Blackwall Tunnel in the long term. The provision of a nearby, suitable alternative route also provides resilience, preventing major travel disruption and miles of standing traffic in the event of incidents.

Blackwall Tunnel closures

Caroline Russell: In your response to my question 2019/12014 concerning the reasons for building the Silvertown Tunnel, you referenced 700 closures per year in Blackwall Tunnel. What alternative measures have been considered to reduce the number of these closures, other than a new road tunnel?

The Mayor: Transport for London has, over the course of many years, considered and implemented a number of measures to try and reduce the number of closures at the Blackwall Tunnel. This includes physical highway works, signage, barriers, operational and enforcement activities, and technological solutions.
For example, as part of the works undertaken to refurbish the northbound Blackwall Tunnel in 2011, a ‘high vehicle lane’ was introduced with physical barriers, signage and ‘escape routes’ to dissuade prohibited vehicles and help filter them away from the tunnel.
An enforcement site is also provided on the tunnel approach, enabling a dedicated Metropolitan Police Service Commercial Vehicle Unit Team, shared with the Driving Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), to carry out targeted on-site operations to reduce and manage incidents. In addition, over-height vehicle detectors are in operation along the main approach routes, together with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and dot matrix signs, so that when over-height vehicles are detected, messages are displayed showing their number plate and advising they are on an unsuitable route and need to use an alternative river crossing. Innovative solutions have also been trialled such as using twitter accounts to encourage drivers to check they have enough fuel before travelling and a navigation app called Waze which provides real time re-routes to petrol stations in close proximity to the tunnel entrances.
Despite these measures, closures of the Blackwall Tunnel are still far higher than for any other tunnel in London.

Bus Crash Investigation Investigations and Vision Zero

Caroline Pidgeon: In response to Question 2016/3564, you stated “Although TfL is not given copies of operator investigations into serious incidents on the network, it is provided with the outcomes of these inquiries so it can ensure they are appropriately considered and dealt with.” Do you think TfL should be receiving copies of bus operator investigations in line with your Vision Zero Programme?

The Mayor: Eradicating deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads remains a priority.
In July 2017, Transport for London (TfL) changed the way Notification and Investigation of Major Incidents are reviewed. A more in-depth form is now completed by each of the operators. Copies of these investigation forms are shared with TfL which allows it to have a better understanding of the root causes of incidents.
TfL, working collaboratively with bus operators, has also introduced joint site visits following serious incidents. Operators have been provided with dedicated TfL Health & Safety Executive managers to liaise with and improve communications.

Healthy school streets

Onkar Sahota: How many schools have seen improvements made to adjacent streets using TfL’s Healthy Streets fund?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has adopted my Healthy Streets Approach to improve air quality, reduce congestion and help make London's diverse communities greener, healthier and more attractive places to live, work, play and do business. It is investing record amounts in walking and cycling, supporting efficient and healthy ways to get around the city.
While TfL does not specifically capture data relating to the impact of its schemes – including those delivered by boroughs using TfL funding – on schools, it is safe to say that schools all over London will be benefitting from Healthy Streets investment.
The Safer Routes to Schools programme, 20mph speed restrictions and School Playstreets, along with initiatives such as cycle and pedestrian skills training and smarter travel events at schools, all promote active travel as part of the borough Local Implementation Plans. Other TfL initiatives such as the Safer Junctions programme and the expansion of London’s quality cycling network reduce risks to vulnerable road users and make it easier and safer for students to walk and cycle to school.

Green roofs on bus shelters

Caroline Pidgeon: I understand that the Dutch city of Utrecht has 316 bus stops with green roofs. Will you consider adopting a similar policy in London?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) already has one green roof bus shelter at Baker Street. It will be conducting a trial of a further five green roofs with the intention of increasing biodiversity at key locations by planting bee-friendly flowers in early spring.
Existing bus shelters were not originally designed to carry the additional weight of a green roof and will need to be reinforced. Through TfL’s longer term bus shelter renewal programme consideration will be given to new designs that incorporate green roofs into the structure. The results of the trial will be evaluated before a decision is made on a further roll out.

Bus Contract Performance Audits

Keith Prince: Per your response to Question 2018/0168, how many Bus Contract Performance Audits has TfL conducted since 2005?

The Mayor: Since the start of the financial year 2005/06, Transport for London has conducted 1,327 contract compliance checks: 1,283 on central audit subjects and 44 on additional themes, such as rail replacement, payments to bus operators for training, and to support other parts of surface transport.

Bus Safety

Keith Prince: Why do you and TfL refer to improvements in Bus Safety when the police data shows no reductions in KSIs since the beginning of your Mayoralty?

The Mayor: The most recent figures available from the police show that the number of people killed or seriously injured in or by bus has fallen to the lowest level on record, since the beginning of my Mayoralty.
During 2018, 239 people were killed or seriously injured in collisions involving a bus, which is a reduction of eight per cent compared to 2017 and a 59 per cent reduction compared to the baseline from 2005-2009 (estimated using current methodologies for consistency). This is on track to meet the target of a 70 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured by 2022 in or by a bus, as set out in the Vision Zero action plan for London.
Buses play a key role in my Vision Zero approach. Working with Transport for London I have introduced a world leading Bus Safety Standard to be applied across the entire bus fleet, and which will be incorporated into new bus operator contracts and further contribute to achieving our Vision Zero targets.

Brexit preparedness funding (2)

Leonie Cooper: How will the £272,909 Brexit preparedness funding for the GLA be spent?

The Mayor: The GLA and London Resilience Forum have already incurred substantive costs for Brexit preparation work. The GLA has appointed a lead Brexit officer to lead on the coordination of these activities. In the last 12 months we have supported the Government to prepare for a no deal Brexit twice – in March and October 2019 – through the London Resilience Forum’s work. We have ensured businesses and EU Londoners received support during this uncertain period through initiatives like my Brexit Business Resource Hub and EU Londoners Hub. My officers have also coordinated detailed updates, required weekly, from partner agencies in the London Resilience Forum to the Government departments on Brexit preparedness issues and worked with stakeholders across London to plan for Brexit. We expect the funding to be utilised in full on the cost of staffing these activities in 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Oyster weekly cap (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: At present, the weekly cap covers a set period of Monday to Sunday. Would you consider introducing a weekly cap on a rolling basis, so that the first day of the week for the purposes of the cap for any individual user could start on any day?

The Mayor: Weekly Capping is beneficial for customers due to its simplicity. Customers are promised the best price for a week without needing to plan their travel in advance.
The system does not currently support an approach to determine alternative capping periods. This would be a considerable undertaking involving the development of very complex algorithms, which would undermine the simplicity of the offer and may not ultimately offer customers the best value for travel.

New control units

Andrew Dismore: How many new fire control units are being purchased to replace the old 8 vehicles; and where are a) the current units and b) the new larger units to be stationed?

The Mayor: All eight command units and the existing reserve units are being replaced with similar size vehicles.
a) The current units are located at Islington, Richmond, Lewisham, Wembley, Barking, Edmonton, Woodside and Fulham.
b) The locations of the replacement vehicles are currently being determined as part of the replacement project.

Information about advertisers on the Transport for London network

Siân Berry: In response to a Freedom of Information request asking for details of advertisers, including a breakdown of categories of advertisement on its network, Transport for London (TfL) has said: "we do not have a list of companies that advertise on our network or a breakdown of revenue received by company. We have contracts with partners, e.g. Exterion Media, who run our advertising estate for us. The partner deals with the brands, companies and sectors to sell campaigns and space."
Given you now operate policies such as the ban on junk food advertisements, will you consider asking TfL to collect and report data on the kinds of companies buying advertising space? This would be useful not just in monitoring the effects of your food policies (for example whether fewer food companies are buying advertisement space after the ban) but also in being aware of the number of adverts by fossil fuel and arms companies, for example, or the ability of non-profits and small businesses to access this resource.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) already publishes a breakdown of campaigns run on its network by category in its annual advertising report, including food and drink categories. This report has not featured energy companies or arms companies as categories in previous editions, but I have asked TfL to consider including this information in future reports.
TfL has never produced a report on which companies advertise on its network per year, but I agree it would be helpful for TFL and the GLA to know more about the mix of companies advertising on the TfL network. I have asked for the possibility of such a report to be discussed at the next meeting of the Advertising Steering Group, who will consider the commercial and legal practicalities of collating and publishing this information.

ULEZ support scrappage scheme (2)

Leonie Cooper: What has been the take-up by micro-businesses of the scrappage scheme, in terms of number of businesses and amount of money awarded?

The Mayor: To help micro-businesses, sole traders and charities prepare for the central London ULEZ, and its expansion to the North and South Circulars in 2021, I launched my £23million van scrappage scheme on 22 February 2019 which – allows eligible applicants to scrap up to three older, more polluting vans and charity minibuses and switch to cleaner vehicles. This is to ensure that the funds are targeted as those most in need of support.
As of 23 October, Transport for London (TfL) are dealing with 1,700 applications totalling £3.245 million in value and 451 vehicles have been scrapped, with 393 payments made to micro businesses and charities.
On 23 October, I also launched a £25 million ULEZ car and motorcycle scrappage fund to help low-income and disabled Londoners scrap their older, more polluting vehicles in favour of cleaner vehicles and greener forms of transport to help clean up the city’s toxic air.

strong>Meanwhile and temporary use of home and business sites at Earls Court (2)

Caroline Russell: In your answer to my question 2019/12028, you told me you had: "asked TfL to investigate how the empty properties at Earls Court could be brought into [meanwhile] use if there is any further delay in the start of large-scale development." Could you update me about the outcome or progress of this investigation from Transport for London (TfL)?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor's Question 2019/19630.

Hostile streets at Gallows corner

Caroline Russell: Gallows corner is on a Department for Transport (DfT) shortlist to receive up to £50 million under the major road network programme. You are due to present a final scheme proposal to the DfT in January 2020. Will you ensure that your scheme addresses community severance and resolves high risk road danger issues for people walking and cycling as set out in recommendation 3 of The London Assembly Transport Committee December 2017 report, Hostile Streets?

The Mayor: Transport for London is working in partnership with the London Borough of Havering to develop design options at Gallows Corner. The designs are being developed to improve road safety in line with Vision Zero and to support sustainable growth by addressing the current community severance issues. The design seeks to maximise opportunities to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport in line with the Healthy Streets approach.

Hostile streets and community severance in outer London (2)

Caroline Russell: The London Assembly Transport Committee report, Hostile Streets, in December 2017, recommended that Transport for London (TfL) should be identifying outer London junctions that cause problems of community severance. What progress is TfL making in measuring and recognising severance and how is it being tackled, especially in outer London?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL) investment priorities recognise that community severance leads to safety risks and drives people away from sustainable modes of transport. To deliver my Transport Strategy, we need to address these barriers to active and sustainable travel.
To measure severance, TfL is developing a ‘pedestrian severance’ dataset, which uses a range of factors including traffic speed, vehicle flow and road width to provide a score to illustrate barriers to pedestrian movement. TfL intends to make more use of this once development work is complete, to assist in the consideration of new projects and potentially for assessing benefits.
TfL uses this type of data to aid decision-making and scheme development. It has recently delivered a number of schemes which will help to address severance issues in outer London, and more are under development. For example, TfL recently introduced signalised crossings on all five arms of Charlie Brown’s roundabout in the London Borough of Redbridge, and is working in partnership with the London Borough of Havering as part of my Liveable Neighbourhoods programme to make it easier to access the town centre on foot and bicycle over the intimidating Romford ring road. In the last two years, TfL has completed works at 14 sites with 25 new crossing points, and expect to start work onsite at another 12 sites with 27 new crossing points before March 2020.
Other schemes in development include improving Lombard Roundabout in Croydon for vulnerable road users, and a new walking and cycling crossing over the A1 at Stirling Corner. Last year, with TfL funding, London’s boroughs provided210 new pedestrian crossing facilities all over London.

Hammersmith Bridge engagement

Shaun Bailey: In relation to Hammersmith Bridge, how many times have you met with local stakeholders and residents since the bridge was closed and who were they?

The Mayor: Following the decision to close Hammersmith bridge for urgent safety reasons in April, my immediate priority was for Transport for London (TfL) to mobilise a team to respond swiftly. Since then, TfL has worked with my Deputy Mayor for Transport to put plans in place to engage with local stakeholders, to provide assurances.
I personally met with the leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council, Cllr Stephen Cowan, in July 2019. We discussed the need for our two organisations to continue working closely to minimise the impact of the bridge closure on residents.
In addition to this, my Deputy Mayor for Transport has also met with Hammersmith & Fulham Council, as well as other local stakeholders including Assembly Members and elected representatives.
The TfL Commissioner and members of his Senior Leadership Team have met with a number of the affected boroughs, and TfL managers have attended meetings in the local area including six public meetings attended by hundreds of local residents.
Meetings have also taken place with neighbouring boroughs, Roehampton University, local Business Improvement Districts and other local and community stakeholders.

Tube safety (2)

Shaun Bailey: Have you done any work to ascertain how safe passengers feel on London’s tube network and if Londoners have any ideas of their own to improve safety?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) undertakes a quarterly survey of a representative sample of approximately 1,000 Londoners. Respondents complete an online survey about their experiences while travelling on the public transport network. They are asked about their overall levels of worry while travelling and also their experience of ‘worrying incidents’ in the last three months, and how this affects their behaviour to travel in future.
The results of the survey are used in conjunction with other information, such as recorded crime data, to help assess which aspects TfL and the police should prioritise to maintain the delivery of safe, secure and reliable journeys on London’s transport network.
Although the survey does not currently include a question where respondents can include their own ideas to improve safety, TfL often receives and welcomes any suggestions made through its dedicated customer contact channels.

ZEC Taxi (2)

Keith Prince: How has the Mayor calculated the number of taxi dedicated rapid charger points required in relation to the rising ZEC taxi uptake?

The Mayor: As part of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Taskforce, Transport for London (TfL) has completed modelling to estimate the likely requirement of vehicle charging points for London in the future. The taskforce was informed by different users, including taxi drivers, and the modelling was based on likely rates for switching to electric vehicles, the size of the fleet, average distance travelled and energy efficiency for different vehicle types. Scenarios based on people’s preference for more rapid charging or more slow, overnight charging were also tested. The figures were then presented in the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Task Force Report (June 2019), which is available here: http://lruc.content.tfl.gov.uk/london-electric-vehicle-infrastructure-ta....
The Task Force report recommended that most chargers should be open to everyone because restrictions to a single user group have been shown to reduce utilisation and therefore the viability of the charger. There are however exceptions to this, for example some dedicated points will be needed for taxis in central London. To specifically support their operation, TfL has already installed 73 taxi dedicated rapid charge points as part of the TfL Rapid Charging Infrastructure Project.